Annual Report
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FRAUNHOFER INSTITUTE FOR HIGH FREQUENCY PHYSICS AND RADAR TECHNIQUES FHR ANNUAL REPORT 2020 1 Important milestones for the GESTRA space surveillance radar in 2020: The system's trans- mitter and receiver unit were transported to the final location in Koblenz in the summer. This was followed by the official inaugurati- on and handover to the German Space Situa- tional Awareness Center in the fall. 2 ANNUAL REPORT 2020 1 2 PREFACE Dear friends and partners of Fraunhofer FHR, three new 3D printers financed by funding from Research Fab dear readers, Microelectronics Germany (FMD). These enable us to set new standards in the field of additive manufacturing. At the start of 2020, we were looking ahead with great expectation to a packed schedule full of international trade We have presented our expertise at many international online fairs and conferences, our 10th Wachtberg Forum, and a trade fairs and conferences and exchanged ideas with the large-scale Open House. Those plans were thwarted by covid scientific community in the world's major engineering associ- and we were forced to replan. We created the conditions for ations throughout the year. The excellence of our research is home office for a majority of our staff, moved events online also confirmed by the awards we have received. This year, for and found new ways to stay in touch with customers and example, Dr. Philipp Wojaczek received the Robert T. Hill Best employees – all in record time. Dissertation Award from the IEEE Aerospace and Electronics Systems Society (AESS). His work relates to projects Passive Although individual orders have fallen away, we have man- Radar & Networked RF Sensor Technology – Key Technology aged to implement our research work and projects without for FCAS and MGCS, among others (see page 28). major cutbacks. For instance, the new GESTRA space surveil- lance radar was handed over to the German Space Situational We hope you find the content interesting! Awareness Center – after five years of development and with an order volume of around 42 million euros. GESTRA was transported to Koblenz in July, and the inauguration ceremony took place in October. This logistical tour de force as well as the ceremony with high-profile representatives from research, Peter Knott Dirk Heberling science, defense and politics is covered on page 8. Our new digital formats have been successfully developed. One example is the Radar in Action online lecture series, in which our scientists give application-oriented presentations of the Institute's latest research results. The half-hour lectures with demonstration and discussion in German and English are met with great interest in industry, politics, science and society. They are attended by over 100 participants from all Executive Director over the world on a regular basis. Prof. Dr.-Ing. Peter Knott Phone +49 228 9435-227 We also managed to move into Villip 2 on schedule; despite [email protected] covid. The new building at the Villip site was completed in June and subsequently became home to our interdepartmental Director Signal Processing Think Tank. The Institute continues to grow Prof. Dr.-Ing. Dirk Heberling and the new facilities are enabling this through modern offices Phone +49 228 9435-176 and laboratories. Among other things, the large hall houses [email protected] 3 TABLE OF CONTENT Preface 3 Table of content 4 FROM THE INSTITUTE Highlights of the year 2020 6 GESTRA milestones 2020 8 MENELAOSNT doctoral program 12 Doctorate at Fraunhofer FHR 14 OVERVIEW Fraunhofer FHR in profile 16 Fraunhofer FHR in numbers 18 Organisation chart 20 Board of trustees 22 Research Fab Microelectronics Germany (FMD) 24 BUSINESS UNIT DEFENSE 26 Networked HF sensor technology – key technology for FCAS and MGCS 28 German-Swiss collaboration: Miniaturized radar system with livestream from aircraft to ground 30 Keeping an eye on artificial intelligence 32 Avoid blind spots in the radar 33 BUSINESS UNIT SPACE 34 Radar networks in practice: GESTRA meets EUSST 36 Space surveillance using radar networks 37 Pioneering work in commercialization 38 Higher sensitivity with deep-frozen radar receivers 39 Future TIRA – space observation radar of the future 40 4 BUSINESS UNIT SECURITY 42 Drone in flight? 44 Coastlines: Well protected . 45 BUSINESS UNIT TRAFFIC 46 More safety on the roads 48 Accurate positioning for self-driving cars 50 Time-dynamic radar simulation of traffic scenarios in real time 52 Early detection of track bed damage using radar 52 Precise material characterization 53 BUSINESS UNIT PRODUCTION 54 Using radar to check steel sheet thickness 56 BUSINESS UNIT HUMAN & ENVIRONMENT 58 Metamaterials optimize magnetic resonance imaging 60 Covid patients´ condition always in view 62 Short-range weather radars for optimized forecasting 63 ANNEX 64 Education and training 64 Publications 68 Committee activities 70 Locations 72 Imprint 74 5 Wachtberg/Online, June 5 Villip, June 1 "Fraunhofer vs. Corona" Partic- Completed on schedule: ipation in the Fraunhofer-Ge- New building in Villip sellschaft #WeKnowHow social media campaign with the key 2020 technology of radar Bonn, March 3-5 Applied researchBesondere for defense and 3 security in Germany Washington/Online, April Dr. Philipp Wojaczek receives the Robert T. Hill Best Dissertation Award of the IEEE Aerospace and Electronics Systems Society Ereignisse2 (AESS) Copenhagen/Online, March 15-20 1 EuCAP – The 15th European Conference on Antennas and Propagation 4 JANUARY FEBRUARY MARCH APRIL MAY JUNE JULY AUGUST SEPTEMBER OCTOBER NOVEMBER DECEMBER Wachtberg, March 16 Covid-related switch to home of- Wachtberg/Online, June 23 fice for about 70% of employees Fraunhofer FHR launches "Radar in Action" Research thrives on exchange, but this is practically impossible face-to- Wachtberg, June 1 face in covid times. This is why Fraunhofer FHR is launching the Radar Ulf Herzer becomes in Action international online lecture series, in which scientists present new Head of Admin- a wide variety of the Institute's radar applications: From contactless vital istration sign detection through space observation and autonomous driving. The half-hour presentations with demonstrations and discussions in German and English are met with great interest by customers, partners and interested parties from industry, politics, science and society. These public events are attended by over 100 participants from all over the world on a regular basis. 8 9 Washington/Online: April 27-May IEEE International Radar Conference Wachtberg/Online, April 16 Online through the ball: Premiere of online visitor tours 10 6 through TIRA Wachtberg/Online, June 22-25 Munich/Online, October 26-29 ORAS final presentation Fraunhofer Solution Days A special event: The final presentation of ORAS (sensor-based monitor- The Institute presents the ing and alerting system for the detection and tracking of unmanned ATRIUM radar target simulator aerial systems) was delivered under the constraints of the coronavirus pandemic. It was attended by just a few representatives on site, includ- ing project sponsor VDI-TZ. Technical University of Applied Sciences Wildau and associated partners such as BKA (the Federal Criminal Police Office) and state police forces dialed in via live stream. The associated project partners provided further information during interviews and a Q&A session. Despite the hybrid format, the demonstration was carried 7 out with no glitches and the system in use was presented successfully. Wachtberg, September 17 Expert discussion on strategy – First event with external experts in the new Villip 2 building 5 6 Wachtberg/Koblenz, June 25-July 1 Florence/Online, September 21-25 Warsaw/Online, October 5-8 Logistical tour de force: Transporting IEEE RADAR Conference International Radar Symposium GESTRA to Koblenz (see pg. 8) Prof. Peter Knott gives keynote IRS speech JANUARY FEBRUARY MARCH APRIL MAY JUNE JULY AUGUST SEPTEMBER OCTOBER NOVEMBER DECEMBER Wachtberg/Online, September 5 Digital Education Fair Wachtberg, November 4-5 Koblenz, October 13 2nd Fraunhofer FHR UAS Workshop Ceremony: GESTRA inauguration High-profile speakers discuss current in Koblenz (see pg. 10) developments on Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) with participants from Wachtberg/Online, June 25 research, industry, authorities and Hybrid Board of Trustees associations. meeting livestreamed to all employees 13 14 Warsaw/Online, October 5-8 Manjunath Thindlu Rudrappa wins IRS Young Scientist Contest 11 Wachtberg/Online, November 12 Virtual strategy audit Berlin/Online, May 13 - August 15 ILA Berlin: Prominent trade fair appearance with TIRA and GESTRA 12 7 15 8 GESTRA MILESTONES 2020 Transportation to Koblenz FHR staff and the logistics company. This required two cranes with maximum lifting capacities of 350 t and 500 t Developed by Fraunhofer FHR on behalf of the German Space respectively, whose combined forces were required to lift the Agency at DLR (German Aerospace Center), the GESTRA heavy weight of the radar systems off the ground onto two (German Experimental Space Surveillance and Tracking Radar) 13-axle trailers. The heavy load got on the road on schedule at space surveillance radar completed major steps in 2020. It is 10 p.m. on June 29, 2020. As well as many vehicles for safe- currently undergoing final integration at the new Koblenz site. guarding, the convoy was also accompanied by several police vehicles. Since the loaded containers including the trailer were 7 days, 100 tons, 200 kilometers: significantly higher than 4.50 m, some highway bridges on the A logistical tour de force A3 would have been too low and the entire journey had to be made almost exclusively on country roads. In the middle of the The morning of June 25, 2020 marked the beginning of a night, around 1:30 a.m., the convoy crossed over the Rhine via perfectly planned project on Fraunhofer FHR's Wachtberg the Bonn South Bridge. It then entered the Westerwald region. campus, the likes of which the Institute had never seen before: The second stage with a total distance of about 200 kilometers Loading the GESTRA system and transporting it to its final was completed the following night, finally leading to the des- location at Schmidtenhöhe in Koblenz.